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Rockies' slim chance at success relies on pitching

Weiss counting on rotation to improve after tough season

By Troy E. Renck The Denver Post

Posted:
02/09/2013 10:50:39 PM MST

Updated:
02/09/2013 10:50:48 PM MST

09cdssp2.jpg Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa delivers a pitch to St. Louis Cardinals' Skip Schumaker during the first inning of a Major League Baseball game in Denver on Thursday, May 8, 2008. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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David Zalubowski
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DENVER -- One question. That's all it was, a single inquiry to start an interview that hinted of the daunting challenge facing first-year manager Walt Weiss.

He was wildly popular as a player, but he's not a pitcher. And nothing will determine Weiss' success, and that of the Rockies, this season more than a rotation that, after getting gashed, slugged and pummeled, returns virtually in tact.

Bandage beware.

Clearly in a transition year, the Rockies are counting heavily on a healthy Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin and Juan Nicasio to accelerate the recovery from an embarrassing, franchise-record 98-loss season.

"For us to make any noise and to be taken seriously, we have to have those guys go to the post consistently," Weiss told The Denver Post in a wide-ranging interview before arriving in Scottsdale, Ariz., for spring training. "Everything that has gone on this winter with them has been positive. As far as I am concerned, there will be no limitations. They will hit the ground running."

On the surface, the confidence shown in the trio seems surprising given their injuries and lack of a track record, as well as the increased spending by competitors in the National League West -- the world champion Giants, the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.

De La Rosa, Chacin and Nicasio combined to make only 28 starts last season. Only Chacin provided any stretch of consistency, that coming during the season's final six weeks. Amid the uncertainty and puzzling inactivity by the front office this winter, the Rockies were reassured by the threesome's progress.

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Most recently, front office members watched the pitchers throw in the Dominican Republic, where they prepped for two weeks.

If those three pitchers log 450 combined innings, it will provide some necessary bricks on the road back to respectability. If not, it'll be another long season. The three have all but been given the first three spots in the starting rotation.

Veteran left-hander Jeff Francis, who re-signed for $1.5 million in December, figures to be in the No. 4 slot. That leaves Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich, Tyler Chatwood and Chris Volstad jockeying for the fifth spot in a rotation that provided fresh meat to vultures last season.

"I really think we have some talented guys. We are not a terrible staff. If we come together and click, who knows?" said Pomeranz, who spent the offseason living and working out in Los Angeles. "We have plenty of good arms, and if this team hits like we expect, it's not far-fetched that we could be a really good team."

Outlast the opposition

The Rockies' challenge is clear: Get over the fixation of pitching at altitude, and get the ball to the bullpen. Colorado's starters finished with a league-abyss 5.81 ERA, inflated by a 6.70 mark at Coors Field. Abnormally hot, dry conditions and poor pitch location turned Blake Street into a monster last year not seen since the advent of the humidor in 2002. Opponents' starters were awful too, compiling a 5.95 ERA.

Weiss has been assaulted by those numbers for nearly four months. But he's not about to use playing at altitude as a crutch for the lack of success. He believes just the opposite, in fact.

"The bottom line is winning games. You can't get caught up in having pretty stats, necessarily, as a pitcher in our park. We've got to compete to do that. We've got to be tough to do that," said Weiss, who inherits a team that finished with a franchise-worst 35-46 home record. "We're going to focus more on the advantages we have playing (in Denver)."

Weiss prescribes to the philosophy of outlasting the opposing starter. It's a formula that has worked in the Rockies' best seasons, embodied by the likes of Pedro Astacio, Kevin Ritz and Francis.

Former shortstop Weiss sees some similarities between the Rockies' teams he played for and this year's group. While questions litter the rotation, the bullpen and the everyday lineup should be strengths. Sound familiar?

That's the formula the Rockies used in the mid-1990s.

"If we can get the game to our bullpen vs. the other team's 'pen, I like our chances," Weiss said.

If anything, the final four relievers will throw strikes. That drove the acquisition of Houston's Wilton Lopez, who averages 7.3 strikeouts and just 1.1 walks per nine innings and is under team control for three seasons. He should get some opportunities to spell closer Rafael Betancourt, who rarely issues walks. Matt Belisle is a workhorse, freeing Weiss to use hard-throwing Rex Brothers in lefty-on-lefty matchups.

"We have guys that want to take the ball and get after it," Belisle said. "That's our mind-set. No excuses. Just do our job."

Bring swag back

Optimism, a dying species in these parts, centers squarely on an intriguing lineup. Weiss accepted the manager's job hoping he could convince good friend Dante Bichette to join him. Bichette, who replaced Carney Lansford as the hitting instructor, wants to "bring the swag back." That's his way of saying that he wants an offense that swings hammers and imposes its will with aggressive baserunning.

Bichette has plenty of parts to bring his vision into focus. It starts with Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez playing, and playing well. When a team commits to a roughly $80 million payroll, its best players must be stars. Tulo makes the lineup fit, hitting cleanup to provide a bodyguard for CarGo, while shifting Michael Cuddyer to the fifth or sixth spot. Cuddyer pressed when asked to do more in Tulowitzki's absence, and Gonzalez hit just .261 with five home runs in the second half, saying he needed Tulo "more than his wife." Tulo also seems to bring the best effort out of CarGo, whose defense admittedly suffered at times last season.

"The faster we can all get going and forget about last season, the better," Tulowitzki said. "The best part of baseball is that it's unpredictable. We have some good pieces. You never know what can happen."

Weiss arrived in Scottsdale with plenty on his mind. He has to find his rhythm as a manager, and plans to create open lines of communication and rely heavily on his veteran players and coaching staff. He hasn't had to work to summon his passion, regardless of where his team will be picked to finish in the standings.

"All I have been doing is PR. I can't wait to get in uniform and onto the field and start competing," Weiss said. "The most important thing is that we create a standard and expectation of how we will play the game. That has to be part of our identity. I want an aggressive mind-set where guys respect, care and trust each other. If we are going to do anything special, we have to have those things in place."

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